Today we are filled with nostalgia for the 80s. We strongly recommend that you try River City Girls in the Xbox Game Pass. It is an ode to those Beat’em up of the old arcades How long have they been hooking us to “little machines”? If you are of a certain age and have been through this wonderful time, take a look at the following lines because this game will make you shed a tear.
The Kunio-Kun saga resurrects in River City Girls
To understand the reason for the existence of this fantastic River City Girls we have to go back to 1986, when Technōs Japan gave birth to the mythical character of Kunio through your video game Renegade (Nekketsu Koha Kunio Kun In Japan). Este chulito de instituto experto en artes marciales tuvo tal repercusión that convirtió lasting a tiempo in the mascota of the empresa y in the protagonista of a saga of más de 20 juegos que abarcó géneros tan dispares como la lucha callejera, el balón prisionero o el soccer. Older people, like this humble editor, will no doubt remember the games of Super Dodge Ball, Crash ‘n the Boys: Street Challenge or Nintendo World Cup.
Do not forget this Technōs Japan they were the creators of the mythical Double Dragon for recreation, a title that has directly become part of the Olympus of video games. The play went so well for them that two years later, in 1989, they wanted to resume the genre of street fighting and created River city ransome
Street Gangs was a small evolution from the mythical Double Dragon
This title came to the West with the name of Street gangs and it was a small evolution in the genre because it had a thin layer of role in its development. Gasoline was still distributing cakes in the city but the money we got we could invest in improving the character with new techniques, buy food to recover health or increase statistics with various items.
All these features of Street gangs we find them in this River City Girls. After the disappearance of Technõs Japan his license passed into the hands of Arc systems (owners of Guilty equipment, among others) and has entrusted its development to WayForward (Shantae) which gave a touch of intrigue to the story.
The old school is fighting for the new generation.
We assume in River City Girls the paper of Kyoko y Misako after the kidnapping of his boyfriends, neither more nor less than Kunio himself and his friend Riki. The two girls must go make your way through the institute in the dangerous streets of the city to find them.
As in the original game, we will move in a non-linear environment, move forward and backward as we please, exploring various possibilities and paths and discovering the secrets of River city. This is not the classic 2D game where you only advance by touching anything that puts you in front of you.
In fact, on more than one occasion we will have to farmer coins defeat enemies over and over again to return to the store and buy a special technique or accessory that makes us stronger.
It is not mandatory but recommended because it’s a difficult game. It is difficult at the beginning to capture the pulse because the tempo is a bit slow and the initial techniques are very basic. As we play and fight (and die) we will adapt better and better to its pace until we feel we are masters of kung fu.
Classic mechanics well implemented with some interesting additions
Playable, it’s a delight, and the devotion the developers have put into it is greatly appreciated. clearly differentiate the two fighters. The repertoire of techniques and the set of movements of the two are completely differentiated. This will motivate us to replay, at least once more, the campaign with the other protagonist to test his handling.
There is an interesting mechanic in River City Girls this is not generally seen in these types of games. It consists of the fact that, before putting an end to the last enemy of a group, he will ask for mercy. At this moment we can forgive him and recruit him to join our ranks. This will provide a special attack our character who can call him to battle by pressing a button when he needs it. It’s interesting because every enemy we can recruit will have a special ability, which will motivate us to unlock them all.
Anime and manga scenes to develop the story.
The game looks good overall, in that the Pixel art allows him. It’s not overly pretty but it stands out especially in the fluidity of movements of all the characters. Thanks to the quality of the movement and the large size of the competitors on the screen, the action of the fights is perceived with total clarity.
In addition, the story between the acts presents you with a mix of very attractive anime and manga style images
The soundtrack is also exceptional. There are songs sung that will motivate you in battle and they will give you goosebumps when you hear them. As little as you like the genre, I think everyone would appreciate them. Also, at certain times of the adventure some themes were taken from the original eighties game remastered. When we enter shops and stores, we will hear an ancient and well-known melody that will bring out a big smile from the most veteran (and maybe a little tear).
In company, it’s always better
And finally, we recommend the most important (and the most obvious): playing in local cooperative with someone. It is an extremely gratifying experience to be able to resume this kind of beat’em up, practically forgotten by the new generations, from the hand of a comrade soldier. Distributing tow in the company of another player has never been so fun. And if you decide to activate “friendly fire”, I assure you that the evening will last until unexpected hours. It is a pity that joint attacks do not exist, since they already existed in other representatives of the genre, as in Streets of rage O Scott Pilgrim vs the world (the latter being, by the way, the clearest reference to the title of Arc systems).
Don’t think too much about it and give River City Girls. It is one of the best representatives of the genre “me against the neighborhood” And if you have the option to share command with a combat partner, you won’t be disappointed. In addition, it is free in the Game PassWhat else do you want?
About the Author
Gamer since the 80s. Lover of animals and good cinema. Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations. Sometimes I’m in movies from behind.
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